Some performance poets are quick to mock ‘the world’ and its banal obsessions, and to take the politically moral high ground (sometimes in an unwittingly amusing naïve way). Come on! Many of us have done that. I know I have.

But who satirises the poets? Not many people really, though there is a good swipe at some leading poets in Private Eye’s current issue.

And the E4 (I think!) comedy sketch show ‘Cardinal Burns’ features a cracking piss-take performance poet, who in his latest appearance used a TV remote channel changer as a (ahem!) ‘central metaphor’ in his rant against the world ... and his mum. I nearly wet meself watching. Course I had drunk a whole bottle of Rioja by then ...

Anyhow, the question is ... should we ‘spoken word artistes’ turn our satirical observations on our own scene? And are the egos involved robust enough to take it?

Good question Steve. Of the actors (performers) that I know, I would think that most have robust enough egos to cope with a little gentle satirical ribbing. Don't stand on the stage if you can't dodge the rotten tomatoes etc.

Joy France does a wicked satirical poem about the Wigan poetry scene. She takes the mick out of those who include a bit of singing in a poem, those who read in an exaggerated slow way for effect, those who prance around the stage, those who contort themselves with scraps of paper whilst ranting.... the poets are instantly recognisable and it's a hoot. I suppose you could take offence if you had too big an ego - luckily no-one ever has. Perhaps every venue needs a little bit of Joy - though I'm not sure if the Liverpool scene would ever be able to laugh at themselves - or if the Manchester scene would see the humour... Let's big it up for Wigan :)

Yes, big it up for Wigan. I'd love to see / hear Joy France's satirical poem.

Gonna try to get my LIVER and BARDS co-host Dave Costello to come to the Tudor soon. He's mad, bad and sensible to know.

Thinking wider, I think it must be difficult to parody certain poets who are themselves powerful self-parodies.

I've never been THAT dramatic a reader / performer (apart from the loved up DALEK routine), but you should see me paying karaoke tribute to Bonnie Tyler. Camp is not the word.

"I'm living in a poweder keg / giving off SPARKS!!!"

"I REALLY need you tonight."

Frikening...

I sort of agree with graham - with a mild variation - don't get on stage unless you can kill your hecklers stone dead - or are prepared to drop your trousers - or sing - or play guitar - and never, EVER take performance poetry, or its poets, seriously.

'big it up', i'm loving it.

Hhmmmm.

Broadly speaking, I see performance poetry as entertainment; page poetry as art.

The quality varies a lot, and I think we all realise that some people simply read out page poetry at perforamnce nights.

Being utterly serious for a moment, and positive, and non-satirical, here is what I experienced after launching a live poetry night about five years and watching it develop.

I wrote about in a recent Liverpool Echo blog....

(1) I would witness people come to their first poetry night and just listen, often nervously, to others reading poetry.

(2) Those same people would return the following month, usually to read a favourite 'classic' poem; then they would return the month after that with pieces they themselves had written, and they'd read those out.

(3) I watched these people come back month after month, and I witnessed them grow in confidence and eloquence.

Let's repeat that, because it is important ... people who come to poetry nights can, and often do, grow in confidence and eloquence. How great is that?

Sometimes the poetry read out or 'performed' at our nights can be uncomfortable to hear; but much more often it is inspiring, funny, spiritually profound, wise, politically savvy, though-provoking. Well, that's poetry for you, daddy-o. It explores the meaning of being human; always has done; always will do.

Through the dazzlingly bright lights of sincerity, Mr Regan - may I squint my profound concurrence to your previous statement.

I think the answer to your original question is unsurprisingly other poets. Certainly there are a lot of stand up poets who do this excellently, Mark Niel being a great example I know of. But as an art form or genre of entertainment (and at our best, in my opinion, as both) we are still to niche to attract mainstream satire on any great scale form anybody else.